Geography

Ecuador, about equal in area to Nevada, is in
the northwest part of South America fronting on the Pacific. To the north
is Colombia and to the east and south is Peru. Two high and parallel
ranges of the Andes, traversing the country from north to south, are
topped by tall volcanic peaks. The highest is Chimborazo at 20,577 ft
(6,272 m). The Galápagos Islands (or Colón Archipelago: 3,029 sq mi; 7,845
sq km), in the Pacific Ocean about 600 mi (966 km) west of the South
American mainland, became part of Ecuador in 1832.

Government

Republic.

History

The tribes in the northern highlands of Ecuador
formed the Kingdom of Quito around 1000. It was absorbed, by conquest and
marriage, into the Inca Empire. Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro
conquered the land in 1532, and throughout the 17th century a Spanish
colony thrived by exploitation of the Indians. The first revolt against
Spain occurred in 1809. In 1819, Ecuador joined Venezuela, Colombia, and
Panama in a confederacy known as Greater Colombia.

When Greater Colombia collapsed in 1830, Ecuador
became independent. Revolts and dictatorships followed; it had 48
presidents during the first 131 years of the republic. Conservatives ruled
until the revolution of 1895 ushered in nearly a half century of Radical
Liberal rule, during which the church was disestablished and freedom of
worship, speech, and press was introduced. Although it was under military
rule in the 1970s, the country did not experience the violence and
repression characteristic of other Latin American military regimes. Its
last 30 years of democracy, however, have been largely ineffectual because
of a weak executive branch and a strong, fractious Congress.

Peru invaded Ecuador in 1941 and seized a large
tract of Ecuadoran territory in the disputed Amazon region. In 1981 and
1995 war broke out again. In May 1999, Ecuador and Peru signed a treaty
ending the nearly 60-year border dispute.